The Dublin Statement

The Dublin Statement on

Water and Sustainable Development

INTRODUCTION

Scarcity and misuse of fresh water pose a serious and growing threat to sustainable development

and protection of the environment. Human health and welfare, food security, industrial

development and the ecosystems on which they depend, are all at risk, unless water and land

resources are managed more effectively in the present decade and beyond than they have been in

the past.

Five hundred participants, including government

representatives of eighty international, intergovernmental and non

attended the International Conference on Water and the Environment (ICWE) in Dublin, Ireland, on

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closing session, the Conference adopted this Dublin Statement and the Conference Report. The

problems highlighted are not speculative in nature; nor are they likely to affect our planet only in the

distant future. They are here and they affect humanity now. The future survival of many millions of

people demands immediate and effective action.

The Conference participants call for fundamental new approaches to the assessment, development

and management of freshwater resources, which can only be brought about through political

commitment and involvement from the highest levels of government to the smallest communities.

Commitment will need to be backed by substantial and immediate investments, public awareness

campaigns, legislative and institutional changes, technology development, and capacity building

programmes. Underlying all these must be a greater recognition of the interdependence of all

peoples, and of their place in the natural world.

In commending this Dublin Statement to the world leaders assembled at the United Nations

Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in Rio de Janeiro in June 1992, the

Conference participants urge all governments to study carefully the specific activities and means of

implementation recommended in the Conference Report, and to translate those recommendations

into urgent action programmes for water and sustainable development.

GUIDING PRINCIPLES

Concerted action is needed to reverse the present trends of overconsumption, pollution, and rising

threats from drought and floods. The Conference Report sets out recommendations for action at

local, national and international levels, based on four guiding principles.

Principle No. 1

development and the environment

Since water sustains life, effective management of water resources demands a holistic approach,

linking social and economic development with protection of natural ecosystems. Effective

management links land and water uses across the whole of a catchment area or groundwater

aquifer.

Principle No. 2

involving users, planners and policy

The participatory approach involves raising awareness of the importance of water among policymakers

and the general public. It means that decisions are taken at the lowest appropriate level,

with full public consultation and involvement of users in the planning and implementation of water

projects.

Principle No. 3

This pivotal role of women as providers and users of water and guardians of the living environment

has seldom been reflected in institutional arrangements for the development and management of

water resources. Acceptance and implementation of this principle requires positive policies to

address women’s specific needs and to equip and empower women to participate at all levels in

water resources programmes, including decision

them.

Principle No. 4

an economic good

Within this principle, it is vital to recognize first the basic right of all human beings to have access to

clean water and sanitation at an affordable price. Past failure to recognize the economic value of

water has led to wasteful and environmentally damaging uses of the resource. Managing water as an

economic good is an important way of achieving efficient and equitable use, and of encouraging

conservation and protection of water resources.

THE ACTION AGENDA

Based on these four guiding principles, the Conference participants developed recommendations

which enable countries to tackle their water resources problems on a wide range of fronts. The

major benefits to come from implementation of the Dublin recommendations will be:

‐designated experts from a hundred countries and‐governmental organizations‐‐31 January 1992. The experts saw the emerging global water resources picture as critical. At its‐ Fresh water is a finite and vulnerable resource, essential to sustain life,‐ Water development and management should be based on a participatory approach,‐makers at all levels‐ Women play a central part in the provision, management and safeguarding of water‐making and implementation, in ways defined by‐ Water has an economic value in all its competing uses and should be recognized as

Alleviation of poverty and disease

At the start of the 1990s, more than a quarter of the world’s population still lack the basic human

needs of enough food to eat, a clean water supply and hygienic means of sanitation. The Conference

recommends that priority be given in water resources development and management to the

accelerated provision of food, water and sanitation to these unserved millions.

Protection against natural disasters

Lack of preparedness, often aggravated by lack of data, means that droughts and floods take a huge

toll in deaths, misery and economic loss. Economic losses from natural disasters, including floods

and droughts, increased three

for years in some developing countries, because investments have not been made in basic data

collection and disaster preparedness. Projected climate change and rising sea

risk for some, while also threatening the apparent security of existing water resources.

Damages and loss of life from floods and droughts can be drastically reduced by the disaster

preparedness actions recommended in the Dublin Conference Report.

‐fold between the 1960s and the 1980s. Development is being set back‐levels will intensify the

Water conservation and reuse

Current patterns of water use involve excessive waste. There is great scope for water savings in

agriculture, in industry and in domestic water supplies.

Irrigated agriculture accounts for about 80% of water withdrawals in the world. In many irrigation

schemes, up to 60% of this water is lost on its way from the source to the plant. More efficient

irrigation practices will lead to substantial freshwater savings.

Recycling could reduce the consumption of many industrial consumers by 50% or more, with the

additional benefit of reduced pollution. Application of the "polluter pays" principle and realistic

water pricing will encourage conservation and reuse. On average, 36% of the water produced by

urban water utilities in developing countries is "unaccounted for". Better management could reduce

these costly losses.

Combined savings in agriculture, industry and domestic water supplies could significantly defer

investment in costly new water

sustainability of future supplies. More savings will come from multiple use of water. Compliance

with effective discharge standards, based on new water protection objectives, will enable successive

downstream consumers to reuse water which presently is too contaminated after the first use.

‐resource development and have enormous impact on the

Sustainable urban development

The sustainability of urban growth is threatened by curtailment of the copious supplies of cheap

water, as a result of the depletion and degradation caused by past profligacy. After a generation or

more of excessive water use and reckless discharge of municipal and industrial wastes, the situation

in the majority of the world’s major cities is appalling and getting worse. As water scarcity and

pollution force development of ever more distant sources, marginal costs of meeting fresh demands

are growing rapidly. Future guaranteed supplies must be based on appropriate water charges and

discharge controls. Residual contamination of land and water can no longer be seen as a reasonable

trade

‐off for the jobs and prosperity brought by industrial growth.

Agricultural production and rural water supply

Achieving food security is a high priority in many countries, and agriculture must not only provide

food for rising populations, but also save water for other uses. The challenge is to develop and apply

water

communities to introduce institutions and incentives for the rural population to adopt new

approaches, for both rainfed and irrigated agriculture. The rural population must also have better

access to a potable water supply and to sanitation services. It is an immense task, but not an

impossible one, provided appropriate policies and programmes are adopted at all levels

national and international.

‐saving technology and management methods, and, through capacity building, enable‐‐ local,

Protecting aquatic ecosystems

Water is a vital part of the environment and a home for many forms of life on which the well

of humans ultimately depends. Disruption of flows has reduced the productivity of many such

ecosystems, devastated fisheries, agriculture and grazing, and marginalized the rural communities

which rely on these. Various kinds of pollution, including transboundary pollution, exacerbate these

problems, degrade water supplies, require more expensive water treatment, destroy aquatic fauna,

and deny recreation opportunities.

Integrated management of river basins provides the opportunity to safeguard aquatic ecosystems,

and make their benefits available to society on a sustainable basis.

‐being

Resolving water conflicts

The most appropriate geographical entity for the planning and management of water resources is

the river basin, including surface and groundwater. Ideally, the effective integrated planning and

development of transboundary river or lake basins has similar institutional requirements to a basin

entirely within one country. The essential function of existing international basin organizations is one

of reconciling and harmonizing the interests of riparian countries, monitoring water quantity and

quality, development of concerted action programmes, exchange of information, and enforcing

agreements.

In the coming decades, management of international watersheds will greatly increase in importance.

A high priority should therefore be given to the preparation and implementation of integrated

management plans, endorsed by all affected governments and backed by international agreements.

The enabling environment

Implementation of action programmes for water and sustainable development will require a

substantial investment, not only in the capital projects concerned, but, crucially, in building the

capacity of people and institutions to plan and implement those projects.

The knowledge base

Measurement of components of the water cycle, in quantity and quality, and of other characteristics

of the environment affecting water are an essential basis for undertaking effective water

management. Research and analysis techniques, applied on an interdisciplinary basis, permit the

understanding of these data and their application to many uses.

With the threat of global warming due to increasing greenhouse gas concentrations in the

atmosphere, the need for measurements and data exchange on the hydrological cycle on a global

scale is evident. The data are required to understand both the world’s climate system and the

potential impacts on water resources of climate change and sea level rise. All countries must

participate and, where necessary, be assisted to take part in the global monitoring, the study of the

effects and the development of appropriate response strategies.

Capacity building

All actions identified in the Dublin Conference Report require well

Countries should identify, as part of national development plans, training needs for water

assessment and management, and take steps internally and, if necessary with technical co

agencies, to provide the required training, and working conditions which help to retain the trained

personnel.

Governments must also assess their capacity to equip their water and other specialists to implement

the full range of activities for integrated water

enabling environment in terms of institutional and legal arrangements, including those for effective

water

Awareness raising is a vital part of a participatory approach to water resources management.

Information, education and communication support programmes must be an integral part of the

development process.

FOLLOW

Experience has shown that progress towards implementing the actions and achieving the goals of

water programmes requires follow

international levels.

In the framework of the follow

should initiate periodic assessments of progress. At the international level, United Nations

institutions concerned with water should be strengthened to undertake the assessment and followup

process. In addition, to involve private institutions, regional and non

along with all interested governments in the assessment and follow

for consideration by UNCED, a world water forum or council to which all such groups could adhere.

It is proposed that the first full assessment on implementation of the recommended programme

should be undertaken by the year 2000.

UNCED is urged to consider the financial requirements for water

with the above principles, in the funding for implementation of Agenda 21. Such considerations must

include realistic targets for the timeframe for implementation of the programmes, the internal and

external resources needed, and the means of mobilizing these.

The International Conference on Water and the Environment began with a Water Ceremony in

which children from all parts of the world made a moving plea to the assembled experts to play their

part in preserving precious water resources for future generations.

In transmitting this Dublin Statement to a world audience, the Conference participants urge all those

involved in the development and management of our water resources to allow the message of those

children to direct their future actions.‐trained and qualified personnel.‐resources‐operation‐resources management. This requires provision of an‐demand management.‐UP‐up mechanisms for periodic assessments at national and‐up procedures developed by UNCED for Agenda 21, all Governments‐governmental organizations‐up, the Conference proposes,‐related programmes, in accordance